Costume and Conflict features Jim Naughten’s extraordinary colour portraits of the Herero tribe in Namibia. Photographed in the blazing Namibian desert, the Herero tribe members are adorned in Victorian era dresses and paramilitary costumes that hark back to the region’s German colonization.

Costume and Conflict is comprised of twelve of Naughten’s stunning portraits and two of his large processional panoramics. The subjects have been photographed against the stark, searing Namibian landscape, highlighting the Herero’s colourful costumes and their intense expressions.

Jim Naughten has had eight solo exhibitions across the US, UK, Switzerland, and Italy, including a solo show at the Imperial War Museum. His work was also included in the Royal Academy’s Summer Show in 2012. Naughten has received several photographic awards including numerous AOP awards, a D&AD Yellow Pencil, and he received a commendation from The National Portrait Gallery’s Taylor Wessing Photographic Portrait Prize.Naughten’s book of this work, Costume and Conflict: The Herero Tribe of Namibia, was published on 18 February by Merrell Publishers.

Costume and Conflict will be showing at the Margaret Street Gallery until the 13th of April.

Margaret Street Gallery is an independent gallery founded in April 2012. In the heart of Fitzrovia, central London, the gallery specialises in the photographic and moving image. Dedicated to all forms of the medium, Margaret Street Gallery aims to offers thought-provoking and diverse exhibitions.